


Heat Of The Moment

by sonderwalker



Series: bad things happen bingo [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Whump, Writing Prompt, i beat the shit out of anakin skywalker and call it writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26457544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonderwalker/pseuds/sonderwalker
Summary: After Umbara, Rex, Cody and the rest of the men of the 501st and 212th are shaken, and confused. Questioning their morals, they head towards their next battle. After the betrayal of the jedi Pong Krell, many of them men were unsure of who they could trust anymore, and became more and more protective of each other. Protective to the point where a friendly fire incident occurs, and their general- General Skywalker is collateral damage.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano
Series: bad things happen bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894978
Comments: 41
Kudos: 279





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Icechild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icechild/gifts).



> @Icechild- I saw your comment and I couldn't resist. Thanks for the prompt, and for reading all of my stories. Your comment made my day!  
> if you'd like to request a story or submit a prompt, check out my tumblr @sonderwalker!  
> Also- I will be participating in whumptober this year!

It all happened so fast.

Next to Rex, stood his general, blade ignited and deflecting blaster fire as it rained down on them from the other side. Ahead, he could see the droid army advancing forward, their large tanks shooting shot after shot at them. But General Skywalker still stood next to him, and the commander was at his other side. Rex looked away for a second, watching their blue and green sabers, and he couldn’t help but think about that one mission.

Umbara.

Where their own jedi betrayed them.

But not Commander Tano, not General Skywalker. They stood by Rex, and he made eye contact with his general.

“Everything alright, Rex?” He asked, frowning slightly.

“Just fine, sir!” Rex replied. And it was. Throughout the war, Rex had learned that he had to think for himself. He had learned that some jedi treated and respected the clones better than others.

General Skywalker and Commander Tano were some of those jedi. General Skywalker even knew the names of all his men. He could tell them apart without even having to look at them. Rex knew it had something to do with the force, but he hadn’t heard of any other general being able to do that.

Then the shot came.

Rex was still looking at his general when a streak of light shot past him and hit his general in the chest. He watched, as his blade fell to the ground before turning off. As his knees crumpled and his facial expression changed from shock to pain and then to nothing as he fell unconscious. As he took a large gasp of air before hitting the ground. It was like as if time slowed down.

“Master!” He heard the commander yell, dropping down onto her knees. Rex followed suit and dropped down as well, the ground crunching beneath his feet.

“General! General Skywalker!” Rex exclaimed, snapping back into reality. Over them, he could hear the explosions, the screams, but what mattered was getting the general back to the ship. Rex quickly began to feel for a pulse, and through his gloves he could feel one, but it was weak and erratic.

“Medic! We need a medic!” Rex called out. Several troops came rushing over, each wearing different blue and white designs on their armor.

“Master!” Commander Tano. “Anakin!” But there was no response, and as she lifted his torso up, his head lolled to the side.

“What happened?’ Kix asked as he got down on the ground next to them.

“The general’s been shot.” Rex replied. They watched as Kix removed his robes and looked at the wound closely

“We need a medical evac, now!” He said. He brought his wrist up to his mouth and began to give the nearest gunship squadron their coordinates, but something about this didn’t seem right to rex.

He couldn’t help but think about how it looked like the shot came from _their side_ of the battlefield, not the separatists. He shook his head.

He couldn’t think like that right now. Their general needed them to stay calm. He needed to stay calm and be there for the commander. He could tell she was trying, but she was only a kid, and if something happened…

 _No_ , nothing would happen.

“The general’s gonna be just fine, kid.” Rex said as he laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, her eyes wide, and it was times like this when he wished he were a jedi because he was sure that he was picking up on something that he wasn’t. She nodded anyway.

“Right.” She responded. They watched as Kix completely removed his tunics, and began to disinfect the wound, before placing a bacta patch on it.

“It’s the best I can do for now.” He said as he checked the general’s pulse again. “I can try to give him some painkillers, but that’s about all I can do until we get back to the ship.”

“Give him the painkillers.” The commander said.

“Yes, sir.” Kix said as he prepared a syringe. Even though they were crouched behind several large rocks, blaster fire still shot past them, some shots too close for comfort. Rex watched as the commander deflected them with her sabers, and then crouched back down, never looking away from the general for too long.

It was times like this when he remembered how _young_ she was. But his thoughts couldn’t dwell on that either, not when the gunships were pulling up behind them and he had to help Kix carry General Skywalker back to the ship.

Ahead, he could see General Kenobi and Cody waiting for them, and while he had seen General Kenobi look worried before, he hadn’t seen him look like this. He rushed out of the gunship and took General Skywalker from their arms.

Once they were inside the gunship, Rex expected to be questioned, and maybe even reprimanded by Cody for not being careful. Instead they rode in complete silence back to the _Resolute._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk to me on tumblr! [@sonderwalker](https://sonderwalker.tumblr.com/)

The medical evac team moved quickly, not giving any one of them time to contemplate what had happened before Anakin was taken away. Rex looked at Cody, and Ahsoka looked at Obi-Wan. She was the first to leave- following the medical crew, and Obi-Wan didn’t doubt that she would stay by Anakin’s side until she was told she couldn’t anymore. But he was also sure that Anakin would have done the same for him. He had done the same for him.

He followed her. There was no point in letting her go alone, and the council could wait to hear about their report.

He tried not to think about that report too much. While getting shot on a battlefield was nothing new, it was the way Anakin was shot- and the way his men seemed to feel about it in the force that concerned Obi-Wan. It made him think that something else was going on. And he intended to get to the bottom of it.

Obi-Wan stood by Ahsoka’s side and they watched as Anakin was taken to an operating theater. After the doors shut, he watched the tension in her shoulders disappear. She turned to look up at him.

“You should rest, young one.” Obi-Wan told her gently. She looked away.

“I can’t. Not while Master Skywalker is being operated on.” She looked back towards the door. “He would be there for me when I woke up. I should be there for him.”

“Ahsoka. Anakin would not want you to neglect your own health.” Obi-Wan said. “He wants what’s best for you, and right now that would be a hot meal and some rest.” She sighed, but they both turned around as they heard footsteps approach.

“General, Commander.” Rex greeted as he approached the two of them. “I wanted to check on how General Skywalker was going.” He shifted his weight from one foot to another and Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes.

“Ahsoka.” He said, his voice stern. “Why don’t you go to the mess hall and I will meet you there in a moment?” She looked at Rex, and then back at Obi-Wan before walking away without saying a word.

Obi-Wan and Rex watched her go. Once she was gone, they turned to face each other.

“Rex, what happened out there?” Obi-Wan asked. Rex looked away and sighed.

“Honestly, General, I’m not sure.” He began. “But I’m sure that you’ve guessed that there is something different about this compared to other times when General Skywalker was injured in battle.”

“Go on.”

“Right, well… to be honest, I think it was friendly fire.” Rex admitted, and Obi-Wan gasped softly.

“What? No, surely that was a mistake.” Obi-Wan began. “The battalion is loyal to Anakin, and likewise, he is loyal in return to you all.”

“I know sir. And I would follow General Skywalker until the end of the line. But I was with him when he got shot. The shot didn’t come from the separatists. It came from one of our men.” Obi-Wan looked down and stroked his beard.

“This is quite troublesome.” He muttered. He looked back up at rex. “Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

Rex shook his head. “No. That’s what’s so strange about it. All of us are loyal to General Skywalker but given how our last mission went…” Rex trailed off. He didn’t need to say anymore. Obi-Wan and Anakin had read the reports. And Obi-Wan was sure that if Rex and his men didn’t kill Krell, that Anakin would have. 

“You don’t have to say any more.” Obi-Wan said softly. “Anakin and I are aware of what happened with… on Umbara.” Rex sighed.

“General- “He began, but Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Rex.” Obi-Wan said, looking into his eyes. “I understand the decision that you made. You are a good soldier, and Anakin is lucky to have you as his captain. We will get to the bottom of this.” Rex nodded.

“While I don’t have an idea on who could have done this, I do think I know where to start.” Rex said. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

“Not all of the men were down on the surface. Only the 332nd Company, and Torrent Company were down on the surface. The rest of the men were engaged in the air strike, or back on the ship.”

“Which narrows down the list of men significantly.” Obi-Wan said, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at Rex.  
  
“Can you get me a list of all of the men who were down on the surface? We’ll need to talk to them.” Obi-Wan said as he turned to walk away.

“Right away, sir.” Rex replied. He faltered for a moment. “But what about the commander?”

“Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan asked, turning around. “I am going to speak with her right now.”

* * *

He wasn’t surprised at all to find Ahsoka in the hangar of the ship- even after he had given her a direct order to rest. She sat on the wing of Anakin’s star fighter, talking to his astromech.

“I thought I told you to rest, Ahsoka.” Obi-Wan said. She jumped off of the wing.

“Master!” She exclaimed. “I… couldn’t sleep.” She admitted, looking away.

“That’s alright.” Obi-Wan said, figuring that there was no point in nagging her considering the news he was about to break. “I’d like to talk to you in private, if that’s alright.”

“Of course.” She replied as she followed him out of the hangar. The two of them walked in silence through the halls of the resolute, nodded as the men saluted them as they walked past. Although, it did strike Ahsoka as odd, that one of them didn’t, but she didn’t get a close enough look to see which trooper it was. She watched as Obi-Wan opened the door to his personal quarters and followed him inside.

“Sit.” He said, gesturing towards the chair by the small desk.

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan began. “Rex and I have reason to believe that Anakin has been shot by one of his own men.”

“That’s impossible!” She yelled as she shot up from the chair. “None of the men would do that!”

“I wish it were so, but it seems as though we might have a traitor in our ranks. Now I need you to concentrate, Ahsoka.” Obi-Wan said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I need you to think- who was on the battlefield with you? Who do you know that could have done this?”

Ahsoka sat back down in the chair, trying to concentrate and think about what had happened earlier. But everything had been moving so fast, she didn’t really get the time to think about it. Any clones that seemed to be acting differently…

“Master.” Ahsoka said after a moment. “There was one trooper, in the halls. He didn’t salute us when we walked by, but everyone else did. And the force…”

“Go on.” Obi-Wan said, encouraging her.

“It felt strange, for a moment... but- “

“Trust your feelings Ahsoka. Do you think we should investigate this trooper?” She nodded. Obi-Wan sighed, and she could tell that he was getting ready to say something else to her but then their commlinks beeped.

“General Skywalker is out of surgery and should be waking up at any moment.” Kix said. Silently, Ahsoka got up out of the seat, and rushed out of the room towards the medical bay, and Obi-Wan was right behind her.

* * *

Obi-Wan had lost track of how long they sat there. He knew that Kix had told them that Anakin should be waking up any minute, but it had felt like ages since they had rushed down here from his quarters. He looked at Anakin’s face. Even though at this point he had seen Anakin injured countless times beforehand, that never made looking at it again any easier. He was too still, and Anakin was always moving. He looked to young to be so involved in a war. Even while he was asleep, there were dark circles under his eyes. He watched as Ahsoka gently held his hand in her own, and they both gasped when Anakin gripped her hand back, groaning weakly.

“Master!” Ahsoka said. His eyelids fluttered, before opening to look at them.

“What happened?” he whispered, the medication making him groggy.

“You were shot.” Obi-Wan said softly. The doors opened and Kix walked in.

“You were shot in the heart, general.” He said as he approached them. “It’s a miracle that you survived.” Obi-Wan and Ahsoka looked at each other and then back at Anakin.

“In the heart?” Ahsoka whispered. Anakin tried to smile at her.

“But I’m here now Snips, no need to worry.” He said, trying to comfort her. But Obi-Wan could tell that wasn’t the only thing that was bothering her.

Whoever shot Anakin was shooting to kill. But he couldn’t’ tell Anakin that, not while he was still seriously injured. No, he would wait until Anakin was discharged, and have him question his men as well.

“We’re pretty sure that you’re going to make a full recovery, but it will take some time.” Kix said.

“You’re going to be taken off of active duty for at least a week.”

“What?” Anakin exclaimed, and then winced in pain.

“Anakin, you were shot in the heart. What else are you expecting?” Obi-Wan asked. “You need to take time to recover from such a serious injury.”

“The general is right, uh, general.” Kix said. “It’ll take some time before your back to normal. You’re going to have to build your stamina back up.” Anakin frowned, but Obi-Wan could tell that he was already running out of energy. He was blinking slower, and he could tell that Anakin was already fighting to stay awake. Kix left the room and they were alone again.

“Get some rest, Anakin.” Obi-Wan said as he patted Anakin’s arm before turning to leave. Ahsoka didn’t move but watched as Anakin’s eyes stayed shut and his breathing evened out. Once alone, he commed Rex.

“Have you gotten the list together?”

“Affirmative. I’m ready when you are, sir.” Rex replied. Obi-Wan paused, and looked back, wondering if he should bring Ahsoka with him.

“I will meet you in the hangar in a moment.” He said. But before he walked away, he turned back and watched as Ahsoka fell asleep, her head resting on Anakin’s bed, his hand on her shoulder. Then he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot twist time!

Obi-Wan watched as the men of the 501st stood at attention in the hangar. Around them, other members of their legion, and the 212th as well were moving about the hangar. But the men in front of him, were very still. He reached out into the force, trying to sense if something, anything was off. He looked down at Ahsoka and could tell that she was trying to do the same. He remembered her comments from earlier about a soldier that had been acting funny. But with their armor and helmets on, the only way they had to be sure that they were identifying the correct man was through the force.

And right now, it was quiet.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “I am sure that you are all wondering why I have asked you to gather here.” Several of the men nodded and muttered amongst themselves. But one didn’t move, and Obi-Wan stared at him for a moment before continuing.

“As you are all aware, General Skywalker has been severely injured in our most recent mission.” More murmurs rushed over the crowd in waves. He knew that Ahsoka sensed it too. One of the men continued to stand completely still. Unresponsive. She took a step forward but Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Based off of his injuries.” He paused. “We have reason to think that it was an inside job.”

“General!” Jesse shouted from amongst the men. “We wouldn’t! We are loyal soldiers.”

“You, are a loyal soldier, Jesse.” Ahsoka said, narrowing her eyes. “But one of you is a traitor.” She said softly, the weight of her voice settling over the crowd.

“Commander-“Rex began, but Obi-Wan held his hand up.

“The traitor is in the room; we can sense it.” Obi-Wan said calmly. But things didn’t stay calm for long. The trooper from earlier grabbed a gun from another one that was walking by and fired several shots at the jedi. Quickly igniting their sabers, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka deflected several shots before he ran off.

“After him!” Obi-Wan shouted, his hair falling into his face. The hangar broke out into chaos as the trooper ran and pushed his brothers aside.

“Admiral!” Obi-Wan shouted into his comm. “Lock down the hangar, now!”

“What? Why?” Admiral Yularen responded.

“Quickly!” Obi-Wan shouted. He heard an affirmative and watched as the hyperspace rings began to be locked down, and the doors began to close. But the trooper was too far ahead of them, and Obi-Wan knew that he was going to try to reach a nearby bomber. Ahead, he saw Ahsoka leap up into the air, and land on top of the bomber’s cockpit.

“It’s over!” She shouted over the chaos. “Take off your helmet.” She snarled. But the trooper didn’t move, and Obi-Wan watched as more and more men surrounded them, waiting for further orders.

He took of his helmet.

“Dogma?” Ahsoka whispered, taken aback. And in her moment of shock, he raised his gun and shot her, sending her falling over the side of the bomber.

“Ahsoka!” Obi-Wan shouted, rushing forward. Around him, the men rushed forward as well, trying to stop Dogma from getting away. But he raised his gun and shot one of his brothers. And then another. And then another.

“Why?” Obi-Wan whispered, horrified. “Why would you do this?”

“Because, General.” He sneered. “Good soldiers follow orders.” And Dogma raised his gun again at Obi-Wan but turned at the last second and shot someone next to him instead.

He shot Cody instead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaa i cannot believe this fic is done!! i hope you all like some nice rex and anakin bonding

Anakin’s snapped open. His chest hurt, his body felt strange, the force was warning him.

Something was wrong.

He sat up quickly, blinking a few times as he tried to get rid of the dizziness that followed. The med bay was quiet- and judging by the ship’s lighting, it was on its night cycle. He looked down at his body, pleased to see that he no longer had an IV in his arm, but frowned at the standard issue medical gown. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath before standing on shaky legs. Once he was sure that they could hold his weight, he leaned over and looked around the medical bay.

No one was there. The metal floor was cold under his bare feet and he curled his toes. At the edge of his bed, he spotted his robes and walked over to inspect them. Carefully, removing the medical gown and pants, wincing as he moved his arms in certain ways, he pulled his tunics over his head, his normal pants back on, and bent to put on his boots.

His vison blurred when he stood back up, and Anakin reached out and gripped the edge of the bed so hard that the knuckles of his left hand turned white. He stopped, and looked around for his gloves, grabbing them and putting them on as well, making sure the glove for his prosthetic was sealed.

He took a deep breath. Even though his body was protesting, he knew he had to leave. He knew that something was wrong.

Quietly walking out of the medbay and into the halls of the ship, Anakin looked around before continuing, letting the force guide him. He wasn’t sure where he was going, or why he was going there, but he soon found himself in the electrical part of the ship maintenance rooms, staring at the different controls and computers that moderated the hangar bay.

The warning was louder now, the warning roaring in his ears even thought it was silent. He didn’t even register that he shut the power off at first.

He blinked and pulled his hand away from the switch.

“Why did I do that?” He muttered to himself. His comlink beeped, and he brought it up towards his face.

“This is an alert from the bridge. We have a traitor on the ship. All units are to be on high alert.” Admiral Yularen’s voice said from the speaker. “The trooper was last spotted in the hangar.” Anakin blinked.

“So, that’s why I did that.” He muttered. But who could the traitor be? He knew that from what Kix told him, the traitor was probably the trooper that shot him. But the 501st had thousands of men, it would take too long for him to go through each company and try and figure it out for himself.

But if they were in the hangar, and he had just shut down the power, that meant that the traitor was trapped in there.

And that meant he could find him.

* * *

The chaos came to a halt as the power shut off in the hangar. The durasteel doors slid shut, trapping everyone in the room. While Obi-Wan was relieved on one hand- this meant that Dogma could not escape, it also meant that there might be another traitor on board.

But he had to deal with this one first.

“Lower your weapon, you are trapped here.” Obi-Wan said, pointing his saber at Dogma, trying not to focus on how wrong it felt. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rex bend down and take off Cody’s helmet, trying to assess how bad the damage was. But he kept his focus on Dogma, holding his blade steady.

“And for what?” Dogma sneered. “So, you can lock me up like another prisoner? Convince me that the jedi are good? I was on Umbara. I saw what happened.”

“Krell is a traitor to the order- to democracy!” Obi-Wan shouted, trying to reason with him.

“He had you try to kill your own brothers!” Ahsoka shouted. “Why would you believe anything he says?”

Dogma shook his head and laughed. “Because he was right. It’s only a matter of time before the republic fails.”

“Dogma, what are you talking about?” Rex yelled. “What have you spent all of your time fighting for?”

“A lie. I followed orders; I did the right thing.” Dogma said, pointing his blaster at Rex. Ahsoka stood in front of him, igniting her sabers.

“Don’t.” She said softly, her voice dark.

* * *

Anakin stood, staring at his comlink, his heart pounding in his chest, although he wasn’t sure if that was from nerves or something else. He gritted his teeth as he felt as if someone had stuck a rod through his chest but exhaled and doubled over as it seemed to be a white-hot rod right through his heart. He blinked, his vision cloudy and his eyes watering. Slowly, he stood back up, breathing carefully.

He had to get down to the hangar.

He backed away from the control panel, looking around again for any troopers that might be coming this way. He knew that if someone saw him up, that he would be reported and sent right back to the medbay. But this was important, and he didn’t have any time to waste.

It felt strange, to sneak around on his own ship like as if he was a stranger. But this wasn’t a separatist cruiser, and he knew his way around. He knew that all the men were rushing to get to the hangar, and he stopped, letting a group of troopers pass him before continuing.

Even with the power cut, eventually someone would be able to cut through the doors and find the traitor.

That was… unless Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were inside the hangar with him. Anakin felt his heartrate pick up and bit his lip.

He had to find them.

Quickly making his way towards the lift, Anakin stepped inside, pressing the button for the upper level of the hangar. He knew that it would be manned, no doubt that they were watching the events unfold in front of them, waiting for orders. But when he walked inside of the control room of the hangar, he was surprised to see that it was empty. He looked over the dashboard of all of the computers, out the window and saw a circle of men surrounding a ship, and a lone trooper standing on top, his helmet off as he pointed his blaster at someone. Anakin squinted- he was too far away to be able to make out who it was that was the traitor, but he knew that he had to do something about it. Right now, everyone in the room seemed to be at a standoff, guns pointed, and sabers ignited but no one was moving.

He looked down at his own saber- grabbing it but then dropping his hand. What good was it going to do from this distance? He learned forward, placing his hand on the glass, and gasped when he noticed who he was pointing the blaster at.

It was Rex who was holding Cody in his arms, and in front of them stood Ahsoka in a defensive stance. At her side he could see Obi-Wan, his blade drawn as he spoke to the trooper. Anakin strained his eyes, trying to make out the identifying markings on this armor.

It was Dogma. The traitor was Dogma.

But why? Anakin shook his head- he could ask why later, after they had captured him. He knocked on the glass gently- thinking about what to do. From where he was, he had an advantage- he could see Dogma, but Dogma couldn’t see him. However, the glass that separated the control booth stood in the way, blocking any kind of lightsaber shot or blaster strike.

He bit his lip, trying to think of a solution that didn’t involve his lightsaber, and he could tell that Obi-Wan would nag him if he was here for ‘thinking with his lightsaber’. That thought made Anakin smile. But it quickly went away as he continued to try and rack his brain for an idea.

He raised his hand up tentatively. He knew that in his current condition he wouldn’t be any help if he went down there and tried to confront Dogma. But he had the force, and the force was always his ally.

He uncurled his fingers, facing his palm upward and raised it, watching as Dogma began to rise in the air, dropping his blaster. He turned his palm over and slammed it downwards, taking Dogma with it, slamming him into the floor. Anakin watched as his men surrounded him. But he could tell that Dogma wasn’t dead.

Anakin grimaced, remembering that the price for treason was death by firing squad. He placed a hand over his chest as another painful palpitation made him hunch his shoulders, looking away from the scene. He looked back up, watching as the men began to dissipate, a group of soldiers walking away, dragging their brother down to the brig. Obi-Wan followed them, but he watched as Ahsoka paused, and looked up.

Right at him.

He leaned on the control panel as another wave of dizziness overcame him. He remembered Kix warning him not to push himself, but now that the adrenaline had worn off, his limbs felt heavy, and suddenly he was gasping for air and clutching at his chest.

* * *

“Care to explain why Ahsoka found you, unconscious in the hangar control room?” Obi-Wan asked as he walked into the medbay, noticing that Anakin was now away.

“I couldn’t just sit here, I had to do something.” He replied quickly.

“Anakin, you could have reopened the wound in your chest.” Obi-Wan said, his voice quiet.

“Is Cody alright?” He asked, trying to change the subject. Obi-Wan sighed.

“He’s going to be fine. Fortunately, his injury was not as serious as yours.” Anakin’s shoulders slumped.

“You had direct orders to rest as much as possible.” Obi-Wan said as he sat on the bed, resting his hand on Anakin’s leg. “While I understand your desire to help, you have to take care of yourself as well.” Anakin bit his lip and looked away from Obi-Wan, not wanting those negative feelings to spill over.

“If not for yourself, then for Ahsoka and I.” Anakin blinked and looked back at Obi-Wan. The door opened, and Rex walked in, his helmet off.

“It’s good to see that you’re awake, general.” Rex said with a smile.

“How long was I out?” Anakin asked.

“About three hours.” Rex said while shrugging. “Kix said he was surprised to see that you hadn’t reopened the blaster shot.”

“Three hours?” Anakin repeated softly.

“That’s probably your body telling you that you need to take it easy, Sir.” Rex commented. Obi-Wan smiled.

“Now if only you would listen.” Obi-Wan said while rolling his eyes.

“Hey!” Anakin exclaimed, leaning forward and then wincing.

“General.” Rex said, rushing forward.

“I’m fine.” Anakin replied through gritted teeth. Rex looked at Obi-Wan.

“Clearly, you are not.” Obi-Wan said as he stood up. “We’ll leave you to rest, Anakin.” Obi-Wan said before turning to leave the room.

“General- “Rex began but Anakin cut him off.

“It’s just us, and I’m not exactly in condition to command. You can just call me Anakin.”

Rex blinked. “Right… Gen-Anakin.” He said, catching himself. Anakin smiled.

“Is Ahsoka alright?” He asked.

“The commander is fine. General Kenobi has insisted that she take a break before... speaking to Dogma.”

“And what about you?” Anakin asked. Rex shrugged.

“I’m… I’m alright.” Rex said slowly, as if he were surprised.

“You know that I can sense when people are lying, right?”

Rex sighed. “I know, it’s just- why would Dogma betray us? Why would Krell betray us?”

Anakin played with the cuff of the glove on his right hand. “The dark side is tempting. It’s patient. It listens to you. That’s why it draws people in.” He said softly.

“Have you… have you ever been tempted?” Rex asked slowly.

“There isn’t a single Jedi alive who hasn’t.” Anakin replied, his voice dark. He looked up at Rex.

“But as Jedi, we are committed to the light. Master Yoda always said that once you fall, you can’t come back.”

“Do you think that’s true?” Rex asked. Anakin shrugged.

“It hasn’t been done before.” He sighed. “But maybe things can change.”

“Maybe.” Rex repeated softer. Anakin reached over and grabbed his hand.

“Don’t blame yourself for what happened on Umbara, or what happened to Dogma. You can’t change other people.” Rex blinked and looked away.

“I know.” He replied. “I know that we have to be able to let go but- “

“It hurts,” Anakin finished. “I know.” He winced, and then coughed as another powerful palpitation ripped through his chest.

“Anakin!” Rex cried out in alarm. Anakin swallowed, scrunching his eyes shut in pain.

“You should really get some rest.” He said as he gently pressed Anakin down into the bed. “I’ll tell Commander Tano that you asked for her.”

Anakin opened his eyes blearily “Don’t forget to get some rest yourself, Rex.”

“I won’t”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


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